Dental spray



Jan. 16, 1940.

W. J. HOOPER DENTAL SPRAY Filed April 26, 1937 Z9 A 3W?" z 30 C HG2, i m 204,3 25 .0

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i rroP/vn Patented Jan. 16, 14940 DENTAL SPRAY William J. Hooper, Elsah, Ill., assignery of one-half to Harold A. Hooper, Chicago, Ill.

Application April 26, 1937, Serial No. 138,880

` 1 oiaim. (o1. 12s- 224) My invention relates to a new and useful imrovement in dental sprays, and has for its principal object to produce a simple, efiicient, and

relatively inexpensive device of this character, in which the passage of a column of water or other liquid therethrough is subject to the control of the user of the structure. Another object is to providel a very simple valve-operating mechanism requiring only one spring in the operation thereof, and utilizing the' liquid pressure to assist in restoring the valve to its normally closed position.

It is Very important inthe use of a dental spray of the type herein involved that the passage of Water' therethrough should be unimpeded except by the positive action of the valve mechanism, and so the biocking or clogging of the conduit l should be guarded against in the structure itself,

as is shown in the present structure'. The? valve structure and associated parts are substantial and subject to positive control both in opening and closing, as well as the clearly defined course of travel of the Water column through the device. Sediment or small objects contained in the water stream will not prevent the normal operation of my dental spray.

Fig. l is a sectional View taken longitudinally through my dental spray with the valve closed.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, sectional View taken longitudinally through my dental spray with the valve open.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, cross-sectional View taken on the line 3 3, Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, cross-sectional View taken on the line Il-li, Fig. l, looking in the direction of the arrows.

In the drawing, A designates the body of my new device, B the discharge nozzle thereof, C the handle of the structure, and D the tubular member, preferably of rubber, leading to a water faucet or any appropriate water or other liquid connection (not shown). The nozzle B is longitudinally apertured as at I throughout its length, and is preferably bent as at 2 near its discharge end, so as to be more conveniently applied to the teeth of the user of the device. At the inner end of the nozzle B screw-threads 3 are provided to permit attachment of the said nozzle to the body A of my structure. The handle C is preferably tubular, and is screw-threaded as at 4, adapting it to be mounted upon a member hereinafter to be described. The handle C is longitudinally apertured as at 5 to receive parts of the mechanism relating to the valve structure and the tubular member D. The principal purpose of the handle C is for convenience in manipulating my dental spray.

K The body A of my new dental spray is preferably hexagonal as shown in Figs. y3 and 4.` Such 5 body is' hollowed out to receive the valve mechanism now to be described. The" forward end of the body A is interiorly screw-threaded toreceive the screw-threaded end of the nozzle B.

A shelf 6 is provided near the forward end of the 10 body A against which a rubber gasket I `is adapted to rest when the nozzle B is screwed into position. The purpose of the gasket 'I is' to prevent leakage of water at the joint between" the body A and the nozzle B. The shelf 6 also serves 15 on itsinner side as a support for a soft rubber valve seat member 8, which iscentrally apertured as at 9 to permit the passage of water therethrough. If desired, this valve seat member 8 may be cemented against the shelf 6 in order `20 to definitely hold said member in xed position. Adapted to contact the valve seat member 8 is a cup-shaped, circular valve Ill, which is provided, preferably, with the sharp-edged exterior contacting edge Il, which edge contacts the valve 25 seat member S and controls the ow of water through my dental spray. A stem I2 extends from the rear center of the valve IB and merges with the portion I3 which has three vanes I4. The portion I3 is adapted to enter a perforation I5 30 in a tubular section I6,` which will now be described.

The section I6 has a collar I7 at the inner end thereof which seats against a shoulder I8 in the body A. A rubber gasket I9 surrounds the mem- 35 ber I6 and ts against one side of the collar I1.

A metal Washer 20 is placed against the gasket I9, which arrangement prevents leakage at this joint.

A tubular member 2I is screw-threaded on the major outer portion thereof, as shown at 22, which engages screw-threads 23 on the interior of the body A. Said member 2l is provided with a at end surface 24, which abuts against the metal Washer 20 and holds the tubular section I6 in 45 position in the body A. Also, mounted on the tubular member 2| is the handle C whose screwthreads 4 engage the screw-threads 22 on said tubular member 2I. `The outer end of the tubular section I6 is serrated as` at 25, and over this 50 end is slipped the tubular rubber member D through which passes the water from a faucet (not shown).

Abutting against the outer end of the portion I3 is a spiral spring 26 which is located in the 55 perforation I 5 in the tubular section I 6. This spring 26 normally tends to force the valve I0 in contact with the soft rubber Valve seat.

A valve-operating member 21 is pivotally mounted at 28 Within the body A. This member is bifurcated, as clearly appears in Fig. 4, in order to straddle the stem I2 carried by the valve Il). The open end of the member 21 contacts the end of the vanes I4 (Whiohact as an lits outer end.l A rubber dam 34 is placed in the perforation in the body A and rests on a shoulder 35 at the lower, or inner, end of said perforation. A metal washer 3621s placed on a circular portion 31 of theplug 32 and has its outer face in contact with the inner face of the dam 34. The outer side of this dam 34 is impinged by the rounded Vend of the pin 3l, while the inner side of said dam 34 rests against the upper, smooth side of the valve 21. When the pin 3l is moved down- `Wardly by pressure on the disk 29, the member 21 presses against the end of the vanes I4 on the portion I3 of the stem I2, thereby causing said portion I3 to move outwardly against the action of the spiral spring 26. Such movement, imparted to the stem I2, tends to unseat the valve I0 from the rubber Valve seat 8, thus permitting water to flow through my dental spray. When pressure upon the disk 29 is released, the parts referred to are restored by the spring 26 to their normal, closed position, thus shutting oif the flow of water through the device. The action of the spring 26 in restoring the parts to closed position is assisted by the pressure of the Water against the inner face of the valve Ill.

By regulating the pressure on the disk 29 the volume of Water passing through my dental spray can be controlled. The usual Water pressure in the Water system causes a stream to pass through the nozzle B with sucient force to dislodge particles of food or other matter between the teeth, and thus cause the teeth to be cleansed of such particles. By making the nozzle B as a separate structure, the body A and handle C and their associated parts may be utilized by a number of different people merely by changing the nozzle.

I claim:

A dental spray adapted for individual home use and comprising a body member, a fluid discharge nozzle and a quick acting and highly sensitive Valve construction including a valve seat, a valve slidably mounted in the body member, tension means acting to normally close` and retain the valve in seating relation with the valve seat, a stem on the Valve and provided with a reduced portion and an abutment, a bifurcated valve operating member pivotally mounted in the body `member straddling the reduced portion of the 

